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Barro negro pottery
Barro negro pottery ("black mud") is a style of pottery from Oaxaca, Mexico distinguished by its color, sheen and unique designs. Oaxaca is one of the few Mexican states which is characterized by the continuance of its ancestral crafts, which are still used in everyday life. The two main ceramic traditions in Oaxaca are the glazed green pieces of Santa María Atzompa and the black pottery or barro negro of San Bartolo Coyotepec. Barro negro is one of the crafts most strongly identified with Oaxaca and one of the most popular and appreciated styles of pottery in Mexico. The origins of this pottery style extends as far back as the Monte Alban period and for almost all of its history, had been available only in a matte grayish finish. In the 1950s, a potter named Doña Rosa devised a way to put a black metallic like sheen onto the pottery by polishing it. This look has made the pottery far more popular. From the 1980s to the present, an artisan named Carlomagno Pedro Martinez has promoted items made this way with barro negro sculptures which have been exhibited in a number of countries. History Barro negro pottery is part of traditional Oaxaca identity, the making of which has been developed over centuries. It had been fashioned into jars and other articles that the ancient Zapotecs used in daily life. Originally barro negro pottery was matte and grayish. In this form, the pottery is sturdier, and able to be hit without breaking. In the 1950s, a woman by the name of Doña Rosa Real discovered that she could change the color and sheen of the pieces by polishing the clay piece and firing it at a slightly lower temperature. Just before the formed clay piece is completely dry, it is polished with a quartz stone to compress the surface. After firing, the piece emerges a shiny black instead of a dull gray. This has made the pottery far more popular with Nelson Rockefeller collecting a number of her pieces. Many pieces are produced now for decorative purposes rather than utilitarian. Doña Rosa died in 1980, but the tradition of making the pottery is being carried on by Doña Rosa’s daughter and grandchildren who stage demonstrations for tourists in their local alfareria (Spanish for potters' workshop).Pg 744 - - Total pages: 1056 The Mateo family alfareria is located in San Bartolo Coyotepec about south of Oaxaca and is the biggest in the village. The workshop is still in the family home, where shelves and shelves of shiny black pieces for sale line the inner courtyard. Despite being the origin of black polished clay, pieces at the this workshop are much cheaper than in other parts of Mexico. Another important person in the development and promotion of barro negro is the work Carlomagno Pedro Martinez He was born here into a pottery-making family. He was named after Charlemagne by his grandmother, who was an admirer of the king. From a young age showed talent in fashioning figures in clay. When he was grown, he attended the Fine Arts Workshop of Rufino Tamayo in Oaxaca city. He has become the first potter/sculptor in the medium, winning his first recognition in 1985 for his work Tlaquepaque, Jalisco. His fame increased with his development of human skulls made of barro negro in the years that followed. In Mexico, he has exhibited his work in dozens of expositions and has won three national level awards. His work has also been featured in five published books. Martinez’s work has been exhibited in countries such as the United States, Columbia, Argentina, Lebanon, Germany, Spain and Japan, with one of the latest exhibits in New York in 2008. In that same year, he created a mural in barro negro at the Baseball Academy in San Bartolo Coyotepec sponsored by the Alfredo Harp Helú Foundation. Each piece Carlomagno makes is unique in some way, but certain themes such as oral histories, indigenous legends, certain Christian themes and death, called “our grandmother.” San Bartolo Coyotepec The craft is made in San Bartolo Coyotepec and a large number of small communities in the surrounding valley, where the clay is found. This community is located south of the city of Oaxaca. About 600 families in the town and surrounding areas are dedicated to producing the craft. The Mercado de Artesanias in an important attraction which brings visitors from many parts of Mexico and other countries. A group of fourteen people exhibit and sell barro negro objects. Some of these products include vases, animal figures and jars. Demonstrations of pottery making are held as well. In 2005, the Museo Estatal de Arte Popular de Oaxaca (State Museum of Popular Art) was opened in the town, with one of its three halls dedicated to barro negro, with pieces from the Monte Alban era to the present day. In 2009, San Bartolo Coyotepec held its first Feria Artesanal de Barro Negro (Crafts Fair of Barro Negro) with the participation of over 150 artisans Objects made with barro negro Many different kinds of objects are made of barro negro including pots, whistles, flutes, bells, masks, lamps, animal figures with most being of a decorative nature and not for the storage of food and water. One exception to this is the use of cantaros from San Bartolo Coyotepec to age and store mezcal at many distilleries. Another exceptional item made from barro negro are the cantaros used as musical instruments. They are made from this substance because it has a crystalline tone when struck. Another famous barro negro object is the “mezcal monkey” (chango mezcalero). This is a vessel created for the alcoholic liquor mezcal in the shape of a monkey. It is made to hold between 700 ml and 1 liter of the liquid with a cork or corncob stopper. It is either painted in bright colors or left grayish black with detailed etchings. Valente Nieto, the sole surviving progeny of Doña Rosa states that his family created the mezcal monkey and no one else. He claims that his father was a gifted sculptor, and mezcal owners came to their property requesting novelty bottles for the alcoholic beverage. The monkey as well as other animal shapes were created. However, another family, that of Marcelo Simon Galan, also claim to have created the container. His surviving granddaughter says that he made the shape at the request of a customer. An example of Galan’s work is on display at the Museo de Arte Popular de Oaxaca in San Bartolo Coyotepec. Process The color of barro negro is due to the properties of the clay, and is not colored. The earth used to extract the clay is cleaned to remove impurities, which can take a month of soaking and settling out the clay from the rest. After this process, each piece takes about twenty days to complete. Traditionally, the clay is molded on plates balanced on rocks to that they can be spun by hand. Modern potters’ tools are not used. Large pieces, such as cantaros are fashioned from the bottom up adding clay as the piece grows. After it is shaped, the pieces are set to dry in a well-insulated room to protect them from sudden changes in temperature. Drying can take up to three weeks. When the piece is almost dry, it is polished. The surface of the piece is lightly moistened and then rubbed with a curved quartz stone. This compacts the surface of the clay. At this stage, decorative accents such as clay flowers or small handles are added. The designs of barro negro objects are unique to this area. The pieces are then fired in underground pits or above ground kilns, using wood fires that heat the objects to between 700 and 800 °C. When they emerge, the shine is metallic in nature. References Categoría:Art of Mexico Categoría:Pottery Categoría:Oaxaca Categoría:Native American art